Turkish Divers Recover Only One Body in Wreck of Immigrants Ship

Published January 3rd, 2001 - 03:00 GMT

Turkish divers on Wednesday found only one body in the sunken wreck of a Georgian cargo ship off Turkey\'s Mediterranean coast where some 50 illegal i

Turkish divers on Wednesday found only one body in the sunken wreck of a Georgian cargo ship off Turkey's Mediterranean coast where some 50 illegal immigrants were believed to have been trapped, the NTV news channel reported.

So far only nine bodies have been recovered since Monday when the ship split in two on crashing into a reef in a heavy storm off the resort town of Kemer.

Fevzi Tosun, the navy colonel leading the team of divers, said that they had given up operations after a search of the sunken front section and cargo hold of the ship turned up only one mutilated body.

But coast guards were continuing to search for bodies or survivors off Kemer and security forces were combing the shores, NTV said.

Besides bodies, rescuers also picked up mutilated body parts from the sea Tuesday, dampening hopes of finding any more survivors.

Thirty-two people were rescued Monday, including the captain and six crewmen, all of them Greek. A 33rd survivor, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi, was plucked out alive from rough seas Tuesday some 30 hours after the accident.

The ship, which should have been carrying only a 10-man crew, had an estimated 80 illegal immigrants on board, mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to survivors -- ANKARA (AFP)